This little central hallway cottage was bathed in bright sunlight when I made this photo a few years ago. The Spanish Moss and oak canopy were a perfect frame for this enigmatic landmark. Everything about Cox, Georgia, is an enigma. Located in the vicinity of a long lost 18th-century frontier fortification known as Fort Barrington, on the Altamaha River, the community was first known as Barrington. It was named for Josiah Barrington, a cousin of James Oglethorpe. People have been inhabiting these swampy backwoods near the coast since the early days of the Georgia colony.

The post office for Barrington was open from 1894-1916. Cox never had the honor. The Seaboard Air Line Railway operated a line through the area, and it was likely due to the lumber and turpentine business that would have been prolific here in the late 1800s and early 1900s. Perhaps Cox was someone involved in one of those businesses.

This isn’t somewhere you find by accident. It’s located at the terminus of Possum Point Road, and a recently placed sign proudly makes reference to the marsupial moniker. In fact, it states: Welcome to Possum Point, Cox, Georgia, Population: Just a Few, Richard Bolin, Sr., Mayor